In the midst of angry reactions from After School fans regarding what happened after the May 26 recording of MBC’s “Idol Futsal World Cup,” where the After School members left without greeting the fans that had come to cheer them on, Pledis Entertainment has issued an official apology to fans.

On May 28, Pledis said, “No matter what happened on that day, regarding both the perspective of the [After School] members and the fans, we have no excuses, and it is entirely our fault. We weren’t able to appropriately deal with the situation, and for that, we sincerely apologize.”

The agency continued, “We fully understand the grounds on which the fans are upset with us. It’s regrettable that we are doing this because of this incident, but, through continued feedback, we will look for a way to create smooth channels of communication with our fans. On this, we will create a way for fans to give us their input. We will do our best to prevent something like this from ever happening again.”

Pledis Entertainment has made an official apology to After School’s fans after major fan clubs complained about the members ignoring them at the ‘Idol Futsal Championships‘ filmed on May 26 KST.

The After School members participated in the cheerleading championship, and Pledis Entertainment asked fan clubs to create placards. According to reports, the members didn’t greet the fan clubs when they entered nor did they stay for the ending filming. Considering that many fans came quite a way and waited a long while just to cheer the group on, the fan clubs were not happy with the situation and were angry that the agency didn’t notify them that the members would not be participating in the end portion of filming.

After School’s fan clubs expressed, “Fan service is not an obligation, but the agency shouldn’t ignore the fans. The fans waited for hours on hard chairs, and the agency didn’t tell us anything during that time. There is a clear communication issue within Pledis.”

Major fan clubs (‘AS-Fan’ along with ‘Filled with Raina’ and ‘Ga Eun-ah’) have united to temporary close until Pledis Entertainment and the After School members issue an official apology and give the fan clubs “feedback.”

Pledis Entertainment has now come forward to state:

“Regardless of the situation at the time, we have no excuse and apologize to the fans and members for not properly handling it. We apologize to the fans for causing concern due to our inability to handle the situation properly. We understand the dissatisfaction that the fans have concerning Pledis. Through this incident, we’re so sorry, and we will find a way to communicate as fans would like and respond in a realistic way that includes continuous feedback. We’ll create communication channels, so we can come up with ideas alongside fans. We will make efforts so something like this doesn’t happen again and consider the fans’ and members’ perspectives more.”

After School member Raina has also tweeted an apology to explain her point of view. She stated that she thought the fan clubs were told the group wouldn’t be participating in the ending filming for the ‘Idol Futsal Championships’. She also said that she understands how the fans might be disappointed and that she’s very thankful for the support. Raina concluded, “I’ll reflect on this issue. In the future, I’ll make sure not to forget the people far and close who are giving me strength.”